Why carts are abandoned (attack the cause first)
Before chasing carts, reduce origin abandonment. The number one causes are avoidable:
- Surprise costs at the end: The shipping that appears in the last step is the #1 cause worldwide. Show the shipping cost from the cart, or give free shipping on a certain amount.
- Long checkout: every extra field kills conversion. Ask for the minimum and offer payment as a guest.
- Few payment methods: without MSI, without transfer and without cash you lose the typical LATAM buyer.
- Distrust: without reviews, without clear return policies and without a visible WhatsApp to ask, the new customer hesitates — and the one who doubts abandons.
The recovery sequence that works in LATAM
Recovery is a multi-channel sequence with precise timing. In LATAM, WhatsApp is the star channel: opening rates above 95% compared to 15-25% for email.
- Hour 1 (WhatsApp): Friendly and helpful reminder, service tone: "I saw you left your order halfway, can I help you with any questions?" No discount yet.
- Hour 24 (email or WhatsApp): reminder with visible cart (product photos) and response to typical objections: shipments, exchanges, warranty.
- Hour 48-72: The incentive, only if you haven't purchased: free shipping or a small discount valid for 24-48 hours. Never before — if you always give away 10% at hour 1, you train your customers to abandon on purpose.
- Parallel Remarketing: Dynamic ads in Meta showing exactly the products in the cart for 7-14 days.
The Perfect Abandoned Cart Message
The message you retrieve does not press: help. Proven structure: greeting with name, specific reference to the product ("your Runner 42 sneakers are still out of the way"), an open question that invites you to respond ("did you have any questions about the size?"), and the direct link to complete the purchase in one click — to the cart, not to the home page.
And the part that almost everyone ignores: responding. A recovery message that generates a question from the customer and no one answers within 4 hours is a dead sale. This is where an AI agent connected to your store makes the difference: answer the question instantly, with real size, stock and shipping data, and close the sale in the same conversation.
Set it up automatically (and measure it)
None of this works by hand. The sequence should trigger itself when a cart with contact data becomes inactive: messages go out on time, stop if the customer purchases, and each recovery is attributed to its message.
In Aura, the online store, the WhatsApp inbox and the automations live in the same system: the abandoned cart triggers the sequence via WhatsApp and email with Aura Flows, the AI agent answers the questions, and the report tells you how many carts and how much money you recovered each week. Try 14 days for $14 USD.
- Measures: abandonment rate (goal: lower it from ~70% to 55-60%), recovery rate (10-20% is healthy with WhatsApp), and income recovered per month.
- Take care of the frequency: maximum 2-3 messages per cart. More is spam and burns your number.
Aura Resources Mentioned
Stop sticking tools. Operate your entire business with Aura.
ERP, CRM, point of sale, billing, WhatsApp and more — in a single system with AI that works for you. Try 14 days for $14.
Start your trial →Frequently asked questions
How many abandoned carts is it normal to have?
The global average is around 70%. In LATAM, with limited payment methods, it may be higher. If you are above 80%, first check surprise shipping and checkout costs: there is something structural scaring away buyers.
WhatsApp or email to recover carts?
Both, but WhatsApp first: 95%+ opening and response in minutes. The email reinforces after 24 hours with the visual cart. The combination recovers 2-3 times more than email alone.
Should I give a discount to recover a cart?
Only as a last resort (48-72 hours later) and with a short validity. Most carts are recovered with a reminder and resolving a question — starting with a discount gives you margin and bad habits.
How do I get the contact if the customer did not finish the checkout?
Ask for the WhatsApp or email at the beginning of the checkout, not at the end. Carts initiated from conversations also work (the customer who asked on WhatsApp already gave you his number) — another reason to sell conversationally.